Manikaran
Located in the most superior peeth of India , the kulant peeth, manikaran is considered to be the prime place in this peeth as per the brahmand puran. The beauty of this place lies in the peaceful and, green surroundings, towering mountains, the rushing river parvati and most of all the hot water springs unique to this locale. The magnificence of this place is said to have so captivated lord shiva that he spent 1100 years here with his wife parvati . Lord Shiva was so pleased with this place that he had a Manikaran Ghat made at Kashi.
Fulfillment of Daily Human needs
The surroundings and environment are such that all the daily needs of a person can be fulfilled naturally here. When a person gets up in the morning, hot water is available in the form of hot water springs for taking a bath. The tea that is made with this water needs only half the sugar normally required to make tea. For food you can cook potatoes, pulses and sweet kheer and rice in a natural way, in less time, with the steam from the hot water springs. The whole process of cooking food takes less than half an hour.
The Legend Behind Manikaran
Legend has it that Lord Shiva and his wife Parvati, on their sojourn of the world, were so enamoured by this spot, that they stayed here for 1100 years. During their stay, one day, Parvati who owned the chintamani jewel, the jewel that fulfils all wishes, dropped it while playing in water. The chintamani went straight to Sheshnag who resides in the subterranean world. When Parvati could not find the chintamani, she requested Lord Shiva to help locate it. Despite searching high and low the chintamani could not be found. The fiery temper of lord shiva started rising. He started getting into stance for performing his tandav dance and opening his third eye, which meant destruction all round. From the eyes of Lord Shiva Naina Devi appeared. Naina Devi sought out Sheshnag and informed him that Lord Shiva was angry because he could not locate the chintamani and that if sheshnag had the chintamani he should return it to lord shiva. Sheshnag presented the chintamani to Lord Shiva through a hot water fountain . That is how this place got the name manikaran. Not only this, sheshnag showered many other manis here, to please lord shiva. But lord shiva asked parvati to recognize and collect her mani. The rest of the manis he turned into stone so that people in the kalyug man not be lured by the wealth of manis and start fighting with each other for their possession.
Gurdwara Manikaran
Today in manikaran stands a multistory building complete with a hot water pool, a resplendent langar (community kitchen) and peaceful and comfortable rooms for travelers. This is the Gurdwara Sri Guru Nanak Dev Ji building. The Gurudwara can accommodate more than 4000 people at a time. Here free langar is available round the clock. But this was not always so. This gurdwara, dedicated to the visit of Guru Nanak Dev Ji, is built on what was once a cremation ground. Sri Narain Hari Ji came here with his wife, wishing to commemorate, in the form of a gurudwara, the visit of Guru Nanak Dev Ji to this place. After looking high and low he was able to locate the exact spot where Guru Nanak Dev Ji uncovered the hot water pool in which uncooked food disappeared, which miraculously reappeared fully cooked. Even today the food is cooked here in big vessels by immersing them in the spring of hot water. Guru Nanak Dev Ji toured this region during his third udasi (holy journey). As per Janamsakhi of Bhai Bala on page 485 Guru Nanak Dev Ji before visiting manikaran, arrived at Bhuntar and stayed in mystical and beautiful place for a few days. Hearing about the arrival of Guru Nanak Dev Ji and seeing his peaceful and comforting countenance the people of Bhuntur came in large numbers to receive the blessings of Guru Nanak Dev Ji.
When the king heard of Guru Nanak Dev Ji he too visited him with a large consignment of gifts. Guru Nanak Dev Ji with the permission of the Raja distributed these gifts in the name of the lord among among the poor. The Raja explained to Guru Nanak Dev Ji the problem of this area. He said that other than pasham and rice, no grain can be cultivated here. Guru Nanak Dev Ji asked the Raja to bring wheat, which he sprinkled all over. He prophesied that after this the area will have large quantities of wheat. He also predicted that with the discovery of gold and silver this area will prosper. Hearing this the Raja and the populace were overjoyed. The visit of Guru Nanak Dev Ji to manikaran is also narrated on page 165 of the Janamsakhi of Gyani Gyan Singh.
